Innovation in action

Cambridge Consultants showcases its latest technology

Innovative product development company Cambridge Consultants played host to a technology showcase when it staged Innovation Day 2012. From an automatic wireless gear-changing bike to a high-tech tea brewing machine, the company demonstrated the skills of its engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers.

With a theme of 'Maximising your investment in a technology-rich world', the event featured keynote speakers Dr Mike Short, vice-president of Telefonica Europe and a former president of the IET; Peter George, CEO of Clinigen Group plc; Professor William Webb, CTO of Neul; and Simon Rolshoven, head of development at Hilti Solar EMEA, and AJ van Bochoven, head of SMART R&D at Cambridge Consultants. There were also seminars on topics ranging from minimising risk and delay for complex developments to how the mobile industry is influencing the broader consumer market.

As well as the capsule-based tea machine, prototypes on show included the piOna auto-injector for women undergoing fertility treatment and an eco-friendly vacuum cleaner. There were also demonstrations of innovative concepts such as 'connected health' – using the Vena wireless healthcare device platform designed to link patients in their homes to healthcare professionals – and Cambridge Consultants' proprietary liquid metal antenna technology that allows medical implants to be tuned and optimised after they have been implanted in a patient.

"It's been a tough economic climate for business," said Cambridge Consultants CEO Alan Richardson. "Yet business has always been about serving your customers, meeting their needs and providing increasing value. And there's never been a time when tightly squeezed customers have needed that more – so the climate couldn't be riper for growing your business by innovation."

Cambridge Consultants develops breakthrough products, creates and licenses intellectual property, and provides business consultancy in technology-critical issues for clients worldwide. For more than 50 years, the company has been helping its clients turn business opportunities into commercial successes, whether they are launching first-to-market products, entering new markets or expanding existing markets through the introduction of new technologies. With a team of more than 700 staff, including engineers, scientists, mathematicians and designers, in offices in Cambridge (UK), Boston (USA) and Singapore, Cambridge Consultants offers solutions across a diverse range of industries including medical technology, industrial and consumer products, digital health, oil and gas, and wireless communications.

Cambridge Consultants is part of Altran, a global leader in engineering and R&D services which offers its clients a new way to innovate. Altran works alongside its clients on every link in the value chain of their project, from conception to industrialisation. In 2015, the Altran group generated revenues of €1.945bn. With a headcount of more than 27,000 employees, Altran is present in more than 20 countries. For more information, visit www.altran.com.